Google reveals top searches of 2015

In a year of Caitlyn Jenner, dinosaurs and the Paris terror attacks, it was the death of Cilla Black that dominated Google searches in 2015.

The passing of the much-loved entertainer in August was the most searched-for story of the year, and it also put Cilla at the list of most searched female celebrities.

She was ahead of Anne Kirkbride, Bobbi Kristina Brown and Madonna.

In terms of general searches, Lady Colin Campbell, the controversial star of this year’s I’m A Celebrity...Get Me Out Of Here! was second of the list, with the Rugby World Cup - with some games hosted in the North East in the autumn - completing the top three.

Matt Cooke, head of Google’s News Lab in London, said: “Homegrown celebrities have generated a lot of interest in particular, while the passing of well-known figures made people want to learn more about them.

“Some of the defining topics and traditions of British life, such as the General Election results, the Grand National and Jeremy Clarkson, have generated a surge in Google searches and will be remembered as events that have characterised the year.”

Former Top Gear presenter Clarkson left the BBC earlier this year and was fourth on the list, followed by the Paris terror attacks, the iPhone 6s - which launched in September - and the Grand National.

The top ten trends was completed by summer blockbuster Jurassic World, the results of the General Election and French magazine Charlie Hebdo - the scene of a separate Paris terror attack in January.

Google now deals with around 40,000 search queries per second, and more than 1.3 trillion searches a year.